Public lands are some of the best places to enjoy the dark skies. Atop the Cumberland Plateau in Kentucky and Tennessee, Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area offers presentations that guide visitors through the night sky, and telescope viewing of stars, planets, nebulae, galaxies and the International Space Station. It’s an out of this world experience! Photo by Josh Bandy, National Park Service.

Photographer Jose Torres won the Night Sky category of the Share The Experience contest with this incredible shot of the Milky Way at Dry Tortugas National Park in Florida. Located almost 70 miles west of Key West, the 100-square mile park is mostly open water with seven small islands. Accessible only by boat or seaplane, the park is known for the magnificent Fort Jefferson, picturesque blue waters, great snorkeling and amazing night skies. Photo by Jose Torres (www.sharetheexperience.org).

Congrats to Manish Mamtani for winning the 2017 Share The Experience photo contest. This stunning shot of the Milky Way over Maine’s Acadia National Park will grace next year’s America the Beautiful public lands pass. Manish captured this photo at the park’s Boulder Beach while on a weekend getaway. “After taking this picture, we spent a couple of hours at the Boulder Beach enjoying the beautiful clear star-filled sky and the sound of waves crashing on the rocks. It was very beautiful and peaceful experience and we had the whole beach to ourselves,” said Manish.

A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away … Stargazing at Arches National Park is out of this world. On a moonless night, you can see a wealth of stars with the naked eye. Happy May the 4th be with you! Photo of Delicate Arch courtesy of Joshua Snow.

It’s International Dark Sky Week, and we’re celebrating some of the public lands that are awesome stargazing destinations. Some of the last harbors of dark skies, public lands provide unspoiled views of the stars glittering above. Named the first International Dark Sky Park in 2007, Natural Bridges National Monument in Utah contains three beautiful natural bridges. At night, the bridges form a window into the sky, giving visitors a view of thousands of stars that are bright enough to cast a shadow. Visitors here can see up to 15,000 stars throughout the night.

Spreading across Long Valley in California, the Volcanic Tablelands are a vast and unique landscape formed 700,000 years ago. Small canyons and bluffs dot the mostly flat area, offering amazing night sky views. Carved into the gray, red and pink rocks are extraordinary petroglyphs, mysterious symbols created by Native Americans centuries ago. Archaeologists can only speculate on their meaning. Photo of Bureau of Land Management site by Brandon Yoshizawa (www.sharetheexperience.org).

Happy Halloween! 🎃👻

Halloween is a fun time to scare ourselves with things that go bump in the night, but the night sky doesn’t need to be terrifying. Many people find peace looking up at the endless dome of stars. There’s also the thrill of watching a lightning storm light up the darkness like a camera flash. This amazing shot from Natural Bridges National Monument in Utah shows you why you don’t need to be afraid of the dark. Photo by Alexander Boardman (www.sharetheexperience.org).

From its rocky coastline to the top of Cadillac Mountain, Acadia National Park in Maine will take your breath away. Day or night, the sights and sounds of the park give visitors memories they’ll cherish for a lifetime. Famous for sunrise, the park is also a terrific place to enjoy the night sky. Photo of the Milky Way from Little Hunters Beach by Joshua Snow (www.sharetheexperience.org).

The night sky over Joshua Tree National Park is a glittering dome of sparkling stars, bright planets and streaking meteors – but most people no longer get to see it where they live. In urban and suburban settings, artificial lighting and atmospheric pollutants wash out the light of the stars. Boasting some of the darkest nights in Southern California, Joshua Tree offers many visitors the chance to admire the Milky Way for the first time in their lives and was recently designated an International Dark Sky Park. Photo by Brad Sutton, National Park Service.

Located on the outer portion of Massachusetts’s Cape, Cape Cod National Seashore’s 44,600 acres encompass a rich mosaic of marine, estuarine, fresh water and terrestrial ecosystems. Here you can explore pristine sandy beach, lighthouses, cultural landscapes and wild cranberry bogs. Photo of the Milky Way rising over a salt pond by Jatin Thakkar (www.sharetheexperience.org).